The Mystic Horseman Side B
by ruji
Summary: A.U: A mysterious man appears at a circus on a dark and stormy night, a man with an incredible connection with horses linked to a forgotten past. Accepted into the company, Tezuka's amazing horses begin to thrill every audiance and one interested Fuji.


Note: Because Tora and I are working on the same timeline and around the same plot but from different perspectives, we have decided to separately title our chapters so that it will be easier for readers to follow up. Tora will be doing Side A, which comprises of mainly Tezuka and Yuuta POV. I will be doing Side B, which comprises of Fuji POV for now. We would recommend you to read both sides of the story... because that's the whole point of it. XD Enjoy

Chapter one for Side A can be found at  
http:// www. fanfiction. net/s/3337160/1/  
(without the spaces)

Story; Tora Macaw & ruji

Chapter; Written by ruji

Disclaimer; Prince Of Tennis is not mine. AT ALL.

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**The Mystic Horseman - Side B (Chapter 1)**

If I had any childhood ambitions at all, being part of a circus was definitely not on my list. Yet at this point of my life, I can only say it's the best thing that happened.

Being disliked by my parents since a young age is not what I would call a memorable childhood. My mother had a difficult time birthing me, and was so weak she had to stay in bed for almost half a year after I was born. My father thought of me as a jinx to the family and hardly ever did so much as to carry me. Or so, I've heard from my sister.

A doting sister, Yumiko, was the only fortune I had been blessed with. Many tell me that I am blessed with beautiful looks, but as far as I'm concerned, these feminine features only contributed to my father's dislike towards me. Of course, I had later on learnt how to use these looks of mine to my advantage, but that's entirely a different matter. Had it not been for Yumiko, I haven't got the slightest idea where I would be now. I spent most of my childhood out of my father's sight, and under the care of a kind old man whom I fondly call Oji. He was the owner of the quaint little magic store Yumiko frequented. Now, that store was quite an amazing sight. From ancient books to tarot cards and crystal balls, it had most everything a genuine magic learner desired. Yumiko had been a keen user of tarot cards, and I must say her predictions amazed me every time. That of course, was until I had learnt how to use the cards, and acquired my own prediction powers.

When Oji finally surrendered to the call of age, I was once again on my own. Taking what little belongings I had, and the few items that Oji had given me on a few occasions, I returned the shop to its rightful land owner. Captivated by the colorful tents lights that had sprung overnight around the once empty plot of land across the road and with no particular destination in mind, I stepped into the new boundaries and asked if they could recruit me. I had initially thought I would be grateful if they could allow me to work as a helper of some sort in exchange for food and lodging, but thanks to my few special skills, I got a far better deal of being a fortune teller at the circus.

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I always say the circus is my lucky place. Not only did I find a home and a job at the circus, it also brought along two special people.

Not long after I had joined the circus, Yumiko came to me, asking me for help. I was rather shocked at that time, because Yumiko seldom asked for anything. Something had happened at home and Yuuta had run away from home. Yuuta is my younger brother, a full six years younger than me. I was absolutely thrilled the day my parents came home carrying a small sleeping bundle in their arms. But then my excitement didn't last long, for then my father had sternly ordered me not to go near my baby brother. Still, I loved my brother a lot. Now that the chance to be with my younger brother had surfaced again, I could feel the excitement rushing through my body again. I took off at once, taking the instructions from Yumiko and eventually finding Yuuta. It took me some effort to persuade him to follow me to the circus, but he eventually did. He was only twelve at that time, but after much pleading, they agreed to let him stay, and gave him a relatively easy job to handle.

And then on that one terribly stormy afternoon, the second special person appeared. I can still remember vividly… it was rather unforgettable, that vicious storm that uprooted so many of our tents. A few of our crew were also injured while trying to save the tents. I was there with my brother, trying to do as much as we could, though our strength seemed so insignificant against the daggers of wind and rain. I felt Yuuta stop, and looked towards him, only to find him staring towards a distance. Looking up to where Yuuta was staring towards, I stopped what I was doing for a moment too.

There he was, with a group of what seemed like horses behind him. It was obvious that he wasn't having an easy time, but he and his group of friends were much steadier in contrast to our flailing tents. Watching the group disappear into the only surviving tent, I then snapped out of my trance as Yuuta gave me a shove with his elbow.

Settling down in my newly set up tent, I muttered a word of thanks as my brother handed me a mug of hot tea. Taking a sip, I then scurried him off to get some rest. I had things to arrange and a friend to find, so I stayed back in my tent. I could hear some ruckus going on outside, and was just about to step out to have a look, but it was then that my precious friend Tresor decided to slide out from under the table. Hurrying over to pick the bronze snake into my arms, I then decided to stay in my tent upon hearing Atobe's voice. It was mostly not any good business whenever Atobe took the trouble to poke his royal nose in.

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After a peaceful night of substantial rest, I awoke to a clear sky and a crisp breeze greeting me as I stepped out of my work tent. Most of the tents were already up and in place, and finally the big top was too, and many of the workers were finally able to drag their exhausted selves into the tents for some well-deserved rest. Half-heartedly greeting the master as he passed my tent on his horse and ignoring his flamboyant wave, I greeted and thanked the few exhausted crew for their hard work as they passed by me. I then followed the alluring aroma of freshly cooked bacon and eggs, and made my way to get some breakfast.

Just moments after I had gotten my share of food and had found a seat next to my brother, a tall figure stepped out from the hay tent. I still remember the strange kind of feeling that came to me when I finally got a clear look at that mysterious man from the day before. It had been hard to see with all that rainwater pelting on my face, but now in the broad daylight, I found a smile coming to my lips as I took in the sight of a handsome man with sharp features and stern eyes. What intrigued me the most must have been that head of tousled hair. Even now, it still never fails to intrigue me.

I watched with slight interest as he spoke a few words with Atobe, before he proceeded to get himself a share of food. Without much thinking, I had already walked up to him before I knew it. I asked him to join Yuuta and I for breakfast, as it was the most logical thing to say at that time. Over the years, I had learned when to flash which sort of smile to steer any situation towards my advantage, and by then I was quite confident of the persuasiveness of my smile. But to my surprise, that man was unfazed. Instead, he responded to my invitation with a cold stare. For a while I stood rooted to the ground, momentarily reminded of a certain glare that used to haunt me in my childhood. But I snapped out of my reverie quick enough to catch the expression on Yuuta's face. Things were just starting to get interesting.

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My trail of gaze never really left the mysterious man throughout breakfast. As soon as he got up from his seat, I was rising from my seat as well. Stalking him to the hay tent with Sanada closely behind him, I realized belatedly that I was only one among a small neat crowd of curious watchers. I saw Yuuta too, peeking into the tent.

I watched with much amusement as most of the crowd stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the astonishing disciplined behavior of that man's horses. Truth to be told, I was indeed rather impressed and surprised as well when I witnessed the horses taking their turns to do their business in their makeshift toilet. But when I noticed that prideful gleam in that stranger's eyes, I knew this was only one of the many amazing things his four-legged friends had been trained to accomplish.

As Sanada stepped into the tent to check on our hay bales, a gentle presence warmed my side. Without so much of turning to look, I could already guess who had leaned into me. Yukimura, my fellow gypsy. Due to the similar predicament we were in, being fortune tellers for the circus, we had grown close rather quickly. It didn't take much effort to know that it was Yukimura standing next to me. Not many people were daring enough to take the liberty to stand so closely that I could feel his body heat, and Yukimura was the only one in the whole circus that constantly sported a faint scent of lavender. He smiled bashfully when I gently nudged him with my shoulder. Yukimura never liked crowds, and there could only be one reason why he was here among the crowd. Sanada Genichiroh.

It was just for a few brief minutes that I had turned to chat with Yukimura, and it seemed like too much had happened. When I turned back to survey the scene again, a loud scream was heard a short distance away. I stared dumbfounded as Starlight, one of our horses, bucked about in a frightened mess. Barely a minute later, Toby, our circus' leading trick rider, was abruptly thrown off the chaotic beast. The poor boy must have sustained some serious injuries, falling off a horse with that kind of impact. But I wasn't all that worried for him, for what filled my eyes next was my own brother standing in the way of a raging horse.

Before I could realize what I was doing, I was already running towards Yuuta. I could hear Yukimura calling out to me and telling me not to go, but at that moment my brain was barely registering the danger present. That was my brother's life at stake. I had to do something… though I had no real idea what, but I knew I had to do something to save him. I shouted for Yuuta as I ran, but he wasn't responding. I could see the fear in his eyes despite the distance between us.

Without much thought, I had leaped forward, wrapping my arms tightly around my precious brother as we fell to the ground. My eyes clenched shut, holding Yuuta in my arms with all the strength in me. I only relaxed my grip many moments after the crazed horse had passed us. A few helping hands had come forth to haul us off the grass. I never felt so weak and wobbly in my entire life, but at the same time I had never felt so relieved and more glad that Yuuta was fine.

I only managed to catch a glance of that mysterious horseman's back as he caught up with Starlight, before I gave in to Yukimura's fussing and went into a tent so that he could tend to the scrape on my elbow.

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Later in the day, I learnt that Toby had been sent to the hospital. That fall had caused him several broken bones and internal injuries, I heard. That could only mean that he would be out of the ring for a long time.

I had also heard that Atobe had spoken with the stranger that stopped Starlight with his exceptional control over horses. I never found out what Atobe said to him, but keeping my adorable brother in suspense with a nonchalant shrug and a smile has been fun.

We were all gathered under the big top that night, and at long last, I had learnt the magnificent name of that beautiful stranger as Atobe announced haughtily, "Ore Sama wishes to introduce to all of you… our new star attraction. Tezuka Kunimitsu… The Mystic Horseman!"

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To Be Continued…

A/N: Thank you for reading! To those of you who have read Side A, I hope reading Side B didn't confuse you nor did it bore you. Tora is a super writer and she's already finished chapter 2 for Side A, whereas I've only finally managed to squeeze chapter 1 out at long last. I apologize for the wait... but more fun and more characters are due to come up, so stay with us:) Comments and reviews much appreciated.


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